Devotion
by blob80
Summary: NejiHina. A collection of ten shorts. Neji's POV, unless otherwise stated. Ratings vary.
1. Devotion

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

 _This collection is dedicated to WhiteGems, who introduced me to this pairing._

* * *

Neji took to lurking around the corner whenever Hinata made her salves. He didn't want to disturb her with his presence, but today, that thought had flown out the window and he decided that he wanted to see her while she worked. He'd just returned from an especially tiring mission and wanted to keep her in his sights for as long as he possibly could, before sleep eventually claimed him. She didn't seem to mind, as she went about making her salves for all of the small clan children that always walked around with fresh bruises on their hands because of their inexperience.

He leaned against the wooden doorframe of their traditional home right in the center of the Hyuga compound and simply… watched. Healing came to her in a way that combat took years to, and she reveled in every second she spent doing it. He reveled, too, in the contentedness in her eyes.

If she was happy, then that was all that mattered.

When he was younger, Neji thought that he belonged in the wild, dark heart of the forest. Thought that if given the choice, he would choose to be lost in the throes of battle with enemies surrounding him, so he could show them the true might of the Hyuga's Branch House. He certainly thrived in those places, in those bloody and restless times where only his instincts could guide him, but belonged? No. Looking at her now, he knew exactly where he was meant to be.

This was more than his duty or his obligation—this, right here, was his life's purpose. His place on this planet. To love and to protect her with every ounce of strength he had inside of him. Power overflowed from his very being, and he devoted all of it to her. Not a single speck was held back. Because there would be no one else for him. He didn't _want_ anyone else. There was no one more worthy of his hard-earned respect or his tacit affection. If such a person were to ever come along, then he doubted it would be during this lifetime. Doubted more that the feelings within him would waver, despite it.

Hinata didn't need his protection anymore. But if he was ever relieved of his duties, he would, quite frankly, refuse. Not with kindness or the firm manner he usually spoke in, but with a ferocious undertone that would make the offending party see just how ridiculous the mere notion of it was to him. He couldn't see himself doing anything else at this point. Neither did he have the desire to.

Neji didn't want his purpose stripped from him. His world started and spun around her—and her alone. It had since the moment he'd met her all of those years ago, and although he'd lost himself somewhere along the way, he had found himself, too. And he was made better because of it.

There was strength in hate, but there was also strength in love.

All of the rage and pent-up frustration he once held inside of him made him cherish her all the more. All of the times he had hurt her, cautioned him from ever intentionally doing so again. The times he raised his voice—but more often—his hand against their enemies was done so in her name, bearing in mind not only his, but also _her_ honor. Their shared pride as members of the esteemed Hyuga.

Neji trembled at the idea that she might've gone to another because of his wild disregard as an adolescent. That he might've ruined what they had now because he had been too blinded by something that seemed so _stupid_ now that he looked back on it. But he quickly shook his head of the thought, before it could ruin the tranquility of this precise moment, where she was his and no one else's.

He needed her. More than the earth and sky, and he wouldn't allow his own insecurities to well up and shatter the right she gave him to be by her side… no matter how much he wanted them to. Because she'd be sad if he did, and he couldn't bear the thought of being the cause of another frown on her face.

People said that someone always loved more in a relationship, and in this one, it was him. But he didn't think that was true. Hinata loved just as deeply. And whether others saw it or not, Hinata needed him just as much. Because while Hinata was strong enough to continuously bend and take on all of the horrors that the world threw at her, Neji provided the support she needed so she could stand again after. So she wouldn't twist all the way, turning over herself like a sail cracked half-mast. Ropes gone to the wind.

He was her guardian.

More than that, he was simply _hers._

No matter how much the world around them changed that would remain a steady truth.

The flickering oil lamp on her desk shined gold, as he fell into a seat beside her. His hand brushed against her neck. Hinata turned to smile at him in that gentle way that he didn't think he deserved. It never failed to clear all of the dusky corners of his mind and fill them with love.

"Neji," she called. Hinata brought her hand up to caress his cheek. The ring on her finger glinted in the sparse light. "Can I help you?"

When they were alone, he was prone to randomly saying things that made her flare a vivid scarlet. This time was no exception.

"I didn't live before I met you."

* * *

 _A/N:_ _I_ _have an ItaHina collection similar to this titled,_ _ **Adoration**_ _,_ _if anyone is interested in that._

 _ **If you'd like to check out my writing beyond fanfiction, then I have a fantasy series up for sale. URL on profile.**_

 _Please Review._


	2. Soul Mates

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

 _ **SETTING:**_ _In a world where soul mates are cursed with the name of their counterpart seared onto their skin, a master and her guardian find love._

* * *

When he received his name, Neji screamed loud enough to startle the birds hiding along the distant edge of the forest.

His master, Guy, crouched beside him immediately, concern in his eyes if not in his face. He'd been helping him practice his taijutsu since early morning. It was approaching mid-afternoon now, but Neji knew that this feeling wasn't from overwork. Over the years, he'd become intimately familiar with what it felt like to collapse from exertion. He knew even better how the accidental slip of a blade felt when it cut through his skin, and this pain—it was like none of those. Those were distant echoes compared to the rawness that consumed him now.

This was dense and lingering and ten times worse than anything he'd ever experienced. Heat coiled on his side, thumping in time with the frantic hammer of his heart. He clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle another shout before it could erupt from his throat, but it let loose anyway as the pain spread outward to lick at the skin he credulously thought would be left spared. His body felt as if it was on fire, and no matter how much he rolled, it wouldn't stop.

The pain didn't numb as time passed. Each instant felt hotter than the last, until the few shreds of his sanity slipped away from him. He felt like a rabbit run into the ground, caught between the verge of life and death with his little heart beating out against his will.

For all intents, this kind of burning torture should've killed him, or at the very least, knocked him into oblivion. Neji endured it, however, in consciousness. Perhaps he was forced to.

Then, without warning, the pain stopped.

Neji's voice died with it. He collapsed at its absence. So abrupt as to be missed. His breaths came out short and harsh. Every exhale made his shoulders quake, and they showed no signs of easing anytime soon. He needed to calm down, but every pant was wetter than the last. Neji could taste the iron tang of gore on his tongue. He knew that he wasn't about to get over this just because he willed it. Nothing was ever that easy.

Neji shook his head, trying to clear it enough to wrap his mind around what had just happened—to no avail. He keeled over to vomit a mouthful of bile. There was no food in his stomach to release. It left a rancid taste in his mouth that easily overpowered the copper. Neji remained there for a long time, uncaring for the way his hands and knees quivered in protest.

Guy whispered something soothing in his ear that he just scarcely registered, but his voice, full of gentleness and carefully controlled enthusiasm was so foreign that Neji forced himself to turn his head. He blinked back the unwelcome tears in his eyes and let Guy remove his palm from where he'd been pressing it so roughly against the side of his chest, just over the left side of his ribs.

Guy's eyebrows rose for a moment, before his expression curved to show a strange cross between a smile and a frown.

"Congratulations, Neji," he said. "You have your name."

Neji's eyes widened. Realization as instant as a flock of fleeing birds tore through him. He thought he wouldn't receive one. It was naïve, but he was already so much older than the rest, who'd been branded in their early teens. How in the world did they endure this back then?

"It hurts more the older you are," he assured, as if reading his mind. "I believe the oldest known person to receive one was only a year older than you."

"I don't want it," Neji somehow managed to rasp out. "I want to choose for myself."

"You will _always_ be able to choose." Guy said wisely. He clasped him on the shoulder and looked Neji right in the eye. "I can't remove this, Neji. It can't be taken away. If you try to conceal it with ink or mar it with a scar, it'll reappear somewhere else and you'll have to go through that hellish torture again. But this mark doesn't seal your fate. Don't let it define your choices."

He finished his speech with the most heartfelt thumbs-up to date. Neji was tempted to back up at the sight of it, found that he couldn't, so he nodded instead. He was still reeling. His side throbbed with a vengeance. Neji wanted to tell him that he didn't think he could make it back, but the words bent in his throat.

"You're strong," Guy went on. He patted both of his shoulders as if to affirm the fact, and Neji almost collapsed right then and there. "But don't worry, I can bring you back."

That didn't sound good.

Just as he was about to protest, the blackness that crept around his periphery blurred, then grew to swallow everything. It darkened his vision, breath by breath, until it encompassed him like a silent, starless sky.

He was twenty-one years old.

* * *

Sleep came in broken bursts after that, interspersed with violent dreams of war and waking moments as foggy and blurred as his rippled reflection.

When Neji awoke, truly awoke, he found himself inside of a room within the Hyuga compound—he knew it was only because no other place, save perhaps the halls of certain wealthy clans, had such fine tatami. This room was more luxurious than his own. He was surrounded by wood and the smell of pine; walnut furniture and warm, earthy decorations that made the stress of waking less awful. A sitting room then. Definitely one in the Main House.

Neji's head throbbed. Not from pain, but from the distant memory of it. It was like his mind was trying to reconcile what he'd experienced with the ordinariness of now. He laid there for a long while, blinded by heat as if he held a star. Neji stared at the ceiling and just let his mind drift.

He'd decided long ago that when he'd get his mark, it wouldn't matter because he was already bound by duty to another. But, entirely against his will, his steadfast disposition from when he'd decided that so long ago faltered. It was one thing to say he was going to mindlessly do something, it was another thing entirely to have two options laid out before him—and so blatantly at that. He had one road that led down a path he'd always known and thought himself incapable of wavering from, and another to one he might be pulled to because of a stupid _mark._

 _Assuming she isn't a Hyuga._ Neji paused. _Am I really wishing she is?_

He was.

Neji reached into his robe to feel the mark. It was bunched together though, and he knew from the way he had to reach partially over his back that if he was an ordinary man he would need a mirror to see it completely. Luckily, he had the Byakugan. Before he could use it, however, someone called his name.

"Neji-san!"

"In the sitting room," he replied, not moving only because of the youthfulness in the voice. A boy had called out to him, and from the honorific, it was one from the Branch House. Not two seconds later, his assumption was proven right when a small boy came bounding inside.

He was no older than twelve and had the typical features of the Hyuga. There were bandages wrapped around his arms, which led him to believe that he'd been training this morning. Neji recognized him only because of the unfortunate placement of his name— _Nanako—_ scarred boldly over his throat.

The sun peaked through the door, and Neji leaned back on the palm of his hands, letting its warm rays span across his neck and chest.

"What is it?" he asked, then tacked on, "Hiro?"

Hiro's face brightened at his acknowledgement. "News from the Council."

"The Council?"

"Yes. They want to recommend you to guard a diplomat from the Tea Country while he's here."

"When will he arrive?"

"Tomorrow."

"Does Hiashi-sama know about this?" Neji waited for him to nod, before asking, "Then who's to watch over Hinata-sama when she returns?"

"I will protect her until you're free, Neji-san!" Hiro said exuberantly.

He was so small and looked so _proud_ that Neji couldn't bear to tell him no. But his face must've shown his displeasure because Hiro wilted as soon as he met his eyes. He seemed to slump into himself. His shoulders drooped down, along with his head. He even started shuffling his feet.

"I can't?" he asked, small.

Neji met his eyes. Hiro could do whatever he pleased, but... "It is my duty."

"Not duty," Hiro announced with a frown. He held his pointer finger up at him in what Neji realized was supposed to be a reprimanding gesture. " _Privilege._ "

Who was teaching this boy?

"Yes," Neji agreed nevertheless. He wasn't wrong after all. "Privilege."

Neji waited for Hiro to run off. He was strangely energetic for a Hyuga child.

Once he was gone, he activated his Byakugan, focused his gaze onto that ridiculous mark he'd now have to bear for the rest of his life—and stilled. Time seemed to slow as he read the letters. Once, twice, _fifteen_ more times.

A curse broke the quiet around him into glass, startling a high-pitched yelp out of some servant down the hall. It took him a moment to realize that the curse had come from _him._ And before he knew it, his fingers had dug into the priceless tatami that had so innocently kept his weight throughout the many hours he'd been asleep. It gave under his strength, cracking like a twig caught in a storm. Distantly, he realized that he'd need to have it fixed, but all rational thought was quickly lost to the tangled web of emotions that bubbled in his chest.

It was a mix of things that speared through him. They came too quickly for him to properly make them out—fear, hope, despair, joy, and another that was rooted deep inside of his core, but shrouded by years of built up denial for him to ever utter aloud. He'd been harboring _that_ emotion for so long because he knew that no matter what happened, it could never be spoken; could scarcely even be thought about.

He didn't know if fate loved him or hated him at this point.

To give him the name of the woman he had devoted his life to, the woman he was sworn to protect, the woman he tried to kill—

The one woman that he could _not_ have—

Neji snarled.

* * *

Neji was lucky that Hinata was off on a mission, even luckier that the Hokage herself had already assigned a ninja to guard the Tea diplomat, before the Hyuga clan could so much as recommend him for the job. Because, if nothing else, it gave him some time to think.

 _Perhaps it's a different Hinata,_ he thought, but just the idea left a sour taste in his mouth.

The problem was that Neji didn't know the name that marred Hinata's skin. He knew she had one. For a long time at that. Far longer than him. From the way she used to clam up whenever the subject was brought up when she became of marriageable age, she must've gotten it long before then. She'd mentioned it once in passing when he inspected her bruised arms after a particularly harsh round of training with her father.

 _It's on my back,_ she revealed. _It's hard to reach._

"Naruto would be fitting then," he said self-deprecatingly to himself.

Neji wasn't certain it was that loudmouth, but who else could it be?

He hadn't bothered to ask, personal as the question was. Neither did he check with his Byakugan. There were just some boundaries that he would never cross. But now, at least at that moment, he wished that he had. Though, if he was being honest, he also didn't _want_ to know. The thought terrified him more than he'd like to admit. Knowing would be like a blow to the chest. Neji didn't fancy himself a masochist.

He doubted the others in their generation knew either. They were a loud bunch. He would've heard them say it at least once. The scant few that he thought exempt from that were her teammates and her father; all people he'd be uncomfortable asking. Definitely not Hanabi. She had no filter to speak of… although maybe this was a different case. Some secrets needed to be kept after all, and with Hinata's hand in marriage up for auction, this was one of those secrets.

 _Not that it matters._ Neji sighed. He still wouldn't be able to ask Hanabi, given her penchant for mischief.

Neji rubbed his temples, as he leaned against the squat wooden pillars used to hold storm lamps in front of their clan's entrance. Years ago, he wouldn't be allowed to idle about like this. But the Hyuga had slowly begun changing since the war. The boundary between Main and Branch was becoming more blurred by the day, owing in large part to Hinata and Hiashi's efforts, and in a tiny, more insignificant part to himself and all that he represented as a member of the clan's Branch House.

He was a skilled ninja, arguably the best their clan had to offer. Those that thought otherwise were overconfident fools that rarely lived to tell the tale. The rest of Konoha looked to him for an example of a _true_ Hyuga—and with good reason. Neji's battle prowess was unmatched. It infuriated the sons and daughters of the Main House that were pitted against him during spars, and inevitably compared to him as well.

Neji was given a lot of leeway because of his abilities. But that didn't mean he wanted to continue testing his limits against them. Experience had taught him that the Main House's patience only extended to as far as their hands could reach. No matter how blurred the line between them might become during his lifetime, to him, it would never cease to exist. Years of unwillingly bowing his head to them ensured that. And, as he was often loathed to admit, his devotion to the clan and its principles—and to Hinata in particular _—_ had always been worth more than anything else. More than glory or pride. _Certainly_ more than his desire.

 _Am I actually entertaining the thought of this?_

 _Yes,_ his mind promptly answered, and he crushed the thought.

He didn't know whether to thank his lucky stars or curse them for granting him such a common name; one that he already held affection for to boot. He knew nine women and four men with it. He wasn't interested in the latter and two of the women were whores from the lower districts of other countries that he'd come across during the rare times he was sent on information gathering missions. He crossed them all out from his list.

Neji might not have been the highest ranked member of his clan, but he was still considered higher than the majority of the general population. It would be unbecoming of him to marry beneath his station. Not to mention the clan leaders would disown him if he tried. There was no winning with them. Marrying below or above would be seen as a mistake. He hated it. More so because of the precise narrowing of choices, rather than any issue with the Branch House women that he _was_ allowed to choose from.

It wasn't as if he had plans to marry outside of the clan anyway. He was his father's only child, and thus fully expected to carry on his blood. But it wasn't just that. Neji needed to keep his blood _pure_ because the Elders would have an aneurysm if his genius diminished, or worse, died with him. He had no issue going along with their decisions… only because he knew Hinata would stop them should they so much as try. She wouldn't allow them to marry him off against his wishes, and where he was concerned, her word was law. He was _her_ guardian after all. No one else's. He didn't want to be anyone else's.

If the Hinata engraved on his skin wasn't the one from his thoughts, then he sincerely hoped he never met her. It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. He personally knew a number of people that had never met their soul mates. They'd married others instead. Then there were those that simply didn't care—too wild and free with their sexuality to worry about something so restricting. They were the fortunate ones. Because some had been forced not to care. Like the prostitutes and slave workers that had that decision made for them by a fistful of copper coins before they could learn more about the goodness within the world.

 _What if she's dead?_ he wondered, more than a little hopeful—and ashamed by the fact. Because as far as he was concerned, right now, this mark wasn't a blessing. It was an _affliction_. One that he felt full force.

He doubted she was gone though, considering the hollow stories he'd heard from others about the passing of theirs. Neji's third cousin, who'd gotten his mark at the tender age of twelve, had his die not six months later. He said he heard his counterpart pray; a tender whisper lost in the wind to a god that didn't save him. His cousin even went on to describe how it felt as if his arms had suddenly been twisted away to plunge him into a lake with no bottom. But from the differing accounts Neji had heard over the years, he wondered if perhaps his cousin's soul mate had simply drowned. He eventually married another man, but the name remained.

 _I don't know why I'm even thinking about this._ Neji ran his hands through his hair in irritation. _If anything, I should just be grateful that it didn't appear while I was in battle._

But he knew why…

Neji's life revolved around Hinata.

If it was anyone else, he'd be devastated.

Neji looked up when an older man in patterned robes and his much younger daughter emerged from an entrance at the very edge of the yard. He recognized him enough to know that he was a senior member of the branch family, but nothing else. Frankly, Neji was surprised that he brought his daughter here in the first place. This was the Main House yard, and it was frequently used for training. Children were cautioned against coming to the area, lest they get affected by an errant burst of chakra.

What he wasn't surprised by, however, was the mark on the girl's arm, which she flailed wildly as if her father might not see it if she didn't. Women were known to get theirs younger than men. Perhaps an interest in love had something to do with it. Though if that was the case, then he should've received his at four.

"Daddy," she whined.

"Rima," he said back. It was grave enough to make Neji crack a smile.

"But what if I don't like him? What if he's ugly and stupid and mean and," she gasped, sudden enough to get her father to turn, "what if he hates cacti? I can't be with someone who hates my cacti! I _can't_!"

Her father cracked a smile at that. "Yes, of course. _Cacti._ "

"Daddy!"

"Don't fret, Rima. If you don't like him, then don't be with him. You will always be able to choose," he said, mimicking what Guy had told him not too long ago. It confirmed his thoughts that it was likely something everyone said to the newly marked.

"But…"

"Hmm?"

"What if he doesn't choose me?" she whispered, shier now.

His larger hand landed on her head to ruffle her hair.

"That is his decision, and you must respect it," he told her, then crouched down so he could look her in the eyes. "But anyone that doesn't want your heart will have to answer to me."

She beamed at him.

Neji stayed there long after they left. He looked up at the grey-laden sky and watched as the whorled clouds continued to swirl tighter into themselves.

He'd been so concerned about choosing for himself that he'd never considered that before.

* * *

Neji waited at the gates for her to return.

She was due back any minute now. And even though the sun loomed over him like the shadow of a disappointed parent, he didn't move from his shade-less spot. The Hokage really needed to consider investing in some kind of seating area by the gates for waiting friends and family because the heat was intolerable during the summer. While he could suffer through harsh conditions, that didn't mean he was willing to subject himself to lesser ones. In his own village, no less. Neji hated the heat, and if Hinata wasn't coming home, he'd be locked away in the deepest, most frigid room within the Hyuga household.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long.

He heard her voice, before he saw her. It was a peal of delicate silver in his ears. Neji ignored the shiver that rocked his spine, as he moved forward, closer, so he was standing half a step inside of Konoha's great double doors.

Hinata appeared on the horizon, flanked by her teammates. She smiled demurely at something that Kiba said, then let slip a string of careful laughter when Shino responded. Hinata raised her arms to placate them, but just as she did, her gaze was drawn forward by the sight of their home.

The delight he saw in her face once she caught sight of him couldn't be imitated.

Neji swore that he'd never forget that precise instant. When their eyes met across the distance; when her lips twitched up into a smile bright enough to stagger him; when she lifted her arm in a wave, pleased by his mere presence— _his._

The world lurched beneath his feet. He held onto the village's gate to steady himself. It was solid. Too solid for dreams. Which only made him feel better as he muttered her name. His voice was low, but strong enough to carry across the space that separated them, and before he knew it, she was running.

Hinata skidded to a stop before him.

"Neji!" she said, thrilled. He didn't remember exactly when she'd dropped the honorific she so often tacked on after his name, but he knew it was sometime during the war. "Have you been waiting long?"

"I haven't, Hinata-sama," he said. His eyes zeroed in on a bandage wrapped around her forearm, but when he lifted his hand to brush against it, he stilled.

Neji wasn't entirely sure what happened then, but he smothered the urge to draw back, not wanting her to think that anything was wrong. It was for naught, however, because her eyes chased the hard, drooping curve of his mouth, while her teammates finally appeared behind her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's… nothing, Hinata-sama." He bowed his head ever so slightly in a way that made her frown. "Shall we return? I believe Hanabi-sama has been wanting to see you. Something about ointment?"

She looked at him for a moment longer, before nodding. "Of course."

"After you then, Hinata-sama."

She said goodbye to hear teammates, before going ahead. She tried to walk beside him as the minutes ticked on, but he always took a careful step back.

His ribs _burned._

* * *

"Do they ever fade?" Neji suddenly asked.

Tenten turned, startled that he'd spoken at all. They'd been at the restaurant for the better half of an hour, and he hadn't uttered a singled word. Not even when the waitress came by to take his order or when Rock Lee arrived with his usual burst of boundless enthusiasm.

These team meetings were getting rarer as they got older, and while she'd go to hell and back for Neji, when he was in one of his moods, speaking to him was like pulling teeth… or information from a particularly tight-lipped ninja. Difficult, in any case.

"Does what?" Tenten finally said back. Neji gestured vaguely to the name hidden on her shoulder, and her eyes widened. When had Neji ever been interested in that? "It's been known to happen when someone's counterpart dies and they take a new lover with a dead soul mate as well. Though it's very rare."

"I… see."

"Why do you ask?"

The way his lips thinned in silent defiance was expected.

* * *

 _Am I really going to do this?_ Neji thought to himself, as he paced around his room. _Is it worth impeding on Hinata-sama's privacy?_

It was against the clan's policy to use Byakugan to peek into another individual's affairs. But… it was just a glimpse. It would take him a second—perhaps not even that. Half a second. He was a genius. He could find it in that amount of time, and considering he already knew the general area, he'd be able to see it. She'd never know. Would never have to know. No one was around to stop him. Even if someone were to somehow get past his keen senses and catch him in the act, he could peg it on just checking in on her to see if she was alright. He was her guardian after all. No one would question him.

Neji breathed, as much to prepare as to calm himself. It was now or never. He faced Hinata's room—where he knew she'd be at this hour—raised his hand to form a sign, and channeled chakra into his eyes.

"Byakugan," he said in his quietest voice.

Her naked back was towards him.

 _She's bathing,_ he realized with no small amount of surprise. Because of course she was. The way his luck had been going recently, he shouldn't have expected to find her sleeping.

His cheeks flushed at the sight of her humming, while she scrubbed her arms. She looked like a goddess, bathing in the soft, warm light of a bubbling pond. To his credit, he didn't allow it to distract him… not really. Neji's eyes drifted down. But it wasn't the name that he saw there that took his breath away—not in that moment at least—it was Hinata, who, still edgy from her mission and thus, concerned when she felt the sensation of eyes on her, had activated her own bloodline, and was now looking directly at him.

Neji didn't look away.

He _didn't._

But Sage, how he wanted to. Especially when her eyes lingered on him, even as her cheeks heated. Hinata's gaze drifted ever so slightly down out of childhood habit whenever she found him looking at her. But then those opalescent orbs caught sight of that mark that had given him nothing but grief for the scant few days he'd had it, and she gasped in the most delicate way he could possibly imagine.

Hinata's hand rose to her mouth, startled, and then, before he knew it, she was stepping out of the bath, giving him a _full frontal view._ She didn't seem to notice, busy as she was wrapping a robe around herself as if that did anything to hinder his sight. He knew she was still looking at him; he could still feel her gaze.

And then she was running out.

 _He_ was running out.

Neji slammed open her door just as she was about to leave it.

* * *

" _N—N_ eji!" she shouted, stumbling backwards when he let himself inside. He slid the door closed behind him with a muted _thump._

"Hinata-sama," he said in a voice graver than anything she'd ever heard from him before. The ferocity with which he spoke made his tone during the Chunin exams sound like birdsong. "How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you had that name?"

" _W—W_ hat? I don't know what you're—"

"Hinata-sama!"

Hinata squeaked and covered her face with her hands. His eyebrows furrowed at the sight of her. She was small, nervous, and _terrified_ before him. Something that he never wanted her to be in his presence. Never again.

"Do not avoid this, Hinata-sama," he said, gentler now, then, " _please._ "

She widened the gap between her fingers, so she could look at him. Then, very carefully, she murmured, " _S—S_ ince I was eleven."

Neji's eyes widened for all of a moment. His jaw fell slightly open in wonder. When she only shut the gaps between her fingers and mumbled an apology, he couldn't help the streak of irritation that speared through him then. It was as sudden as the swift, glinting curve of a blade in the dead of night. Sharp and laden with enough poison to exhaust him.

Neji sighed and cradled his face in his hands.

 _Nine years. For nine years she has—_

He touched the mark on his ribs, felt the burn of it. A sting that heightened with proximity and made fire bloom in his chest in a way that he was already all too familiar with. Why did it appear now? Why not when he was a child or—

 _Acceptance?_ He wondered, his genius mind hammering home the pieces like nails in a coffin. _Did it have something to do with… acceptance to the idea of it all?_

But he still didn't accept this. How could he? When he was from the Branch House and she was—

Something shimmered in the back of his mind. Nothing more than half-veiled silk caught in a breeze to offer him a glimpse of what had triggered the change. He recalled the way he'd jumped in front of her those scant few years ago, a willing sacrifice to shield her from the horrors of a fate he could help her avoid. The way she'd shouted his name. Her blood-curdling scream had been the last thing he'd heard, before he was enveloped in a canvas of black.

He didn't think he'd make it back then. Had no plans to.

So, when he awoke, wild-eyed with his entire body throbbing like he'd been punched by Senju Tsunade herself, he could only stare at his hands, as if testing their realness. The fact that Hinata had been beside him and crying like she was prone to only made it worse.

"Are you angry?" she whispered, dragging him from his thoughts more efficiently than anything ever could.

"How could I be?" Neji asked, defeated. "Hinata-sama, if I'd only known… if…" he pointedly looked at her chest, where he'd hurt her all of those years ago, unable to find the words.

"It wouldn't have changed anything," she said, revealing his darkest thoughts and laying it out before them with the kind of understanding and patience he believed only she possessed. "It's okay, Neji."

She held her arms up to him.

He didn't move forward, unwilling— _unable—_ to fully break the line between them that had suddenly grown so faint, so quickly. But that didn't matter to her. Because she stepped towards him herself and folded him into a kind and loving embrace that made his heart beat like he was caught in the middle of a lethal battle. There was no escape. No backdoor to hide behind or side road to throw her off of his trail—only Hinata with her arms wrapped around him and her gaze softer than anything he'd ever known.

"Hinata-sama."

They could discuss the details later, he decided.

There was a brief lull in his movements, a momentary pause where he simply stared at her, etching her expression to memory. But then it passed, and before he knew it, he was bending at the waist, closer, sinking over her, helplessly drawn like a line had yanked him forward. It was a simple thing then to return her half-smile, to match the intensity of her gaze, to acknowledge the bubbling heat unfurling like late petals in spring between them.

He was close. So, so close.

"Neji," she breathed.

He stilled.

His chest heated in anticipation and joy and—

"I'm yours," she told him.

* * *

 _A/N: I know I could've fleshed this one out more. But I didn't want to go too crazy for time reasons. Inspired by a tumblr kmeme prompt and the line: "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same" by Emily Bronte._

 _ **If any of you are interested in my writing beyond fanfiction, then I have a fantasy series up for sale. URL on profile.**_

 _Please Review._


	3. Aftermath

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

 _ **Request by IkeSy:**_ _Neji visits Hinata after the Chunin exams_.

* * *

The ICU seemed colder that day.

Neji attributed it to the late hour, but even he knew that the temperature outside had nothing to do with the one indoors. The hospital staff paid very careful attention to that sort of thing, so that none of their patients would be uncomfortable. They were efficient, he'd give them that. Even if their younger workers batted their eyelashes and made intolerable cooing noises whenever he passed them in the hall.

He stopped before a door.

Faintly, Neji heard the sound of Hinata breathing on the other side. It was accompanied by the steady beeps of whatever machines they had connected to her. He leaned closer when he heard a slight murmur—was someone inside with her? A quick activation of his Byakugan revealed that she was alone. Was she talking to herself? She'd grown to become stranger than he initially thought if that was the case. But, upon closer inspection, he realized that there was something in front of her. It sat atop her exposed calf. A dot of black amidst perfect white.

 _A bug,_ he saw after a moment. There was a moment of utter blankness in his mind, until he recalled who her teammate was. _One of Aburame Shino's no doubt._

Hinata mumbled something that he could just barely make out. It wasn't anything he understood, considering the little he knew about her. An inside joke about tofu that made her smile. Neji was sure that the Aburame, wherever he was, smiled along with her. He didn't know they could communicate with others via their bugs like that, and for a distracted instant, he wished he'd been paired with ninjas from other clans. Even if just for a day. Because learning the intricacies of their techniques now would only serve him better in the future.

His eyes refocused, as Hinata rubbed over the place on her chest where he'd struck her not even a fortnight ago. She assured her distant companion that it didn't hurt, even as her face scrunched in pain. Hinata was a horrible liar. Always had been. He was glad, at least, that some things hadn't changed. His gaze shifted, so he could look at her face. It was round and pale—paler now that she'd been rotting away in a hospital for so long. She looked delicate. She'd always been that way. But he hadn't realized the extent of it until he examined her without the faceless veil of hatred clouding his senses.

Neji knocked twice.

He didn't miss the way she startled or how her Byakugan flashed in the next instant. She was stunned by his presence, and it showed. Distressed would be putting it mildly. Hinata drew into herself like a kitten before a predator that it desperately wanted to hide from. Neji knew that she unintentionally shared the wave of fear that rocked her with the Aburame the moment his bug zoomed out of the window with speed he didn't think beetles capable of.

"May I come in?" he asked.

Speaking to her with civility was hard after so many years, but he tried. Because if nothing else, it was a start. And if he was unable to fully mask the revulsion in his voice, then she didn't tell him. In fact, all she did was stutter out a high-pitched _yes_ that made his ears ring with the sound. Her voice was like needles that pricked at the welled-up boil of guilt that had been stirring beneath his skin since the day he'd put her in here.

Neji was loathed to admit that it reminded him of his father.

Hizashi had been cold, but not unkind. And Hinata, he realized, had a way of making him feel small without raising her voice that was… _just like him,_ he thought, half-stricken and half-irritated by their uncanny similarity. _Who does that make me like then? Hiashi?_

Even the name was uttered with disdain in his mind.

Old habits died hard, it seemed.

Once he finally mastered himself enough to enter, he looked reflexively around the room for the glint of moonlight on steel— _still_ a guardian, despite the years he spent denying it. There were quite a few places someone could hide. A folding screen in one corner, a tall desk covered with flowers in another, and a narrow nook between a closet and the wall. He spared each spot a cursory glance, and was satisfied when he found that they were well and truly alone.

His eyes drifted back to Hinata, and the two of them stared at each other for a moment. There was a chair beside her bed with a plumped pillow resting against the back of it, but he made no move to sit down.

" _N—N_ eji-san," she began, hesitant. Even the honorific sounded unsure. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to hate her for that because she was always, even now, the first to reach out. " _C—C_ an I _h—h_ elp you?"

She was stuttering so bad that he had to angle his head just to properly make out her words.

Every instinct he held inside of him, even those that were older than his short time on this planet, spurred on by his ancestors as they were, _demanded_ that he submit. That he kneel before this tiny figure, barely a woman, and beg for forgiveness. But his pride wasn't something so easily crushed. So, cold defiance won out in the end. Neji raised his chin and met her gaze head-on, fully prepared to ask about her condition and then leave without another look back.

The look in her eyes stopped him, however.

No terror there. No hate… but no warmth either. Not exactly. There were a mix of feelings that implied it. But he wasn't so well-versed in her emotions that he could say for certain. Still, it wasn't anything like the black-rooted sentiments he saw inside of himself the moment he caught his reflection in her eyes. He looked so much older. So cold and so distant compared to her. He was hesitant to cross the space that separated them.

 _When did that happen?_ He wondered. When had he become too wary to approach her? When had he started turning his back whenever she called his name? When, Sage, _when_ had the verbal barrage of abuse begun because he'd stopped seeing the tiny girl before him for what she was? A painfully shy girl with few friends and no talent because the rigid Hyuga style of teaching didn't suit her.

Neji knew the answer to those questions. But perhaps the one he was most concerned with was— _when did she stop actively trying to get him to look at her? Did she ever stop?_

 _No,_ he realized. The Chunin exams were evidence of that.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, cutting through his thoughts. Clean, like separating blood from water in a thin line. She gave him a once over, clearly mistaking the reason why he was in the hospital in the first place. " _A—A_ re you still recovering from the fight with _N—N_ aruto-kun?"

After all of this, was she really asking if _he_ was okay?

Ancestors, help him.

His chest flooded with shame, confusion, joy, and the inexplicable urge to throttle some sense into her. How could she be a ninja when she was this _soft_?

"I am _fine,_ " he said through gritted teeth. His first words since entering. Every syllable seemed to drag out in thorns from his throat.

Neji swallowed thickly, trying to cool the tired, ancient fury he felt in his gut. He was so _sick_ of hating. But after so long, it was difficult to leave behind. And even more difficult to try to live without it. The rotten emotion had grasped his heart like the fist of a demon over a heinous sacrifice. It didn't want to let go—and trying to force it suffocated him in ways he couldn't explain.

Before he could say more, he felt a vicious burst of threatening energy behind him.

Neji turned at the hostile presence that had intruded upon their reunion—if it could be called that—only to find Aburame Shino there with his arms crossed and his head cocked threateningly to the side.

"I suggest you leave," Shino said, all faux calm. Neji couldn't see his eyes behind his shades, but experience told him that they were just as dead as his voice. He was serious. "Why? Because Kiba is on his way, and he won't be pleased to see you." There was a pause, before he added, "And frankly, neither am I. Go away, Hyuga. You, of all people, do not belong here."

Neji knew that already. There was no need to remind him of the fact.

It wasn't as if he wanted to be standing here with his words locked in his throat and his pride rearing its ugly head in a place where it was clearly unwanted. Neji would've said something cutting in return to the Aburame's ruthless words if he didn't think that defending himself would be absolutely worthless now. He was the cause of this mess in the first place, so really, he should've expected this. A part of him did—though not from her teammates, but rather from Hinata herself.

Although he hadn't gotten to say anything substantial to her, Neji turned to leave. Because fighting in a hospital was never a good idea. More than that, he needed to cool off and think about what exactly it was he wanted to happen the next time he came inside of this sterile hospital room. He needed to better prepare himself for the light that was Hyuga Hinata. She was gentler than him. Too gentle to be spoken to when he was still trying to master himself enough to muster an even tone.

He took one step towards the door.

"Neji-san," Hinata called, effectively stopping him in his tracks. No stutter now. Only genuine sincerity. "Come back soon, okay?"

His heart shattered right then and there.

The vice-like grip of hate that had made its home in his chest squeezed air, and he forced himself to breathe. He would _not_ castrate himself before her. He would _not_ show another ninja outside of his clan the weakness bubbling in his chest like over boiled stew.

"I will," he promised. It was barely a whisper, but she heard it, and so did the Aburame if the deepening frown on his face was anything to go by.

"Maybe," she went on, wanting a solid time frame so he wouldn't avoid her, "for lunch?"

"I…" His fists clenched and unclenched in turn. "I will try."

He heard, rather than saw her smile.

"I'll see you then, Neji-san!"

* * *

 _A/N: I'm_ _ **considering**_ _requests. Send them, and I'll do whatever I find interesting._

 _ **If any of you are interested in my writing beyond fanfiction, then I have a fantasy series up for sale. URL on profile.**_

 _Please Review._


	4. Aftermath 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

Lunch, or more often dinner, had become a common affair for them.

Neji was always busy during the lighter hours of the day. Either training with his team or trying to avoid the dirty looks his clansmen threw him in the mornings when Hiashi-sama would request his presence in the dojo. Besides that, Neji didn't want to run into any of her teammates again. He knew a fight was just waiting to break out there, and when it eventually did, it would reach Hinata's ears. She'd look at him with those sad eyes, while he pulled what he hoped was a remorseful expression. It would be a mess. So, he chose to avoid it for as long as possible—and that meant coming to her at night when visiting hours were closed to everyone that wasn't family.

She'd been moved to the general ward some time ago, though it would be another four days before she was released. Truthfully, he dreaded the thought of her coming out of the hospital just as much as he dreaded her staying in. What would happen to these meals of theirs? As a member of the Branch House, he couldn't just sit down and eat with her in her room like he did here. What would become of their relationship now that they didn't have this designated time to come together? Would it crumble? Would she return to skirting around him whenever he passed her in the halls of the Hyuga household?

 _That's up to me,_ Neji tried to reassure himself. _It depends on how_ _ **I**_ _treat her._

But he still couldn't kill the doubt.

 _You tried to kill her,_ his mind whispered. Black poison that made his chest swell with guilt. _Glared with hate and spoke ill to her face for years. Why would she continue to hang around you if she could avoid it?_

Neji clenched the cloth filled with lunchboxes in his hand, courtesy of the Hyuga chefs that had almost blown a gasket at the thought of Hinata eating hospital food. There was a cinnamon bun wrapped neatly on top, which the head chef had sneakily added while Hiashi-sama had his back turned.

 _Why would she?_ he questioned, then shook his head. No. He couldn't allow his thoughts to get the better of him like this. But it was hard not to. His memories of Hinata had paled like paint left too long in the sun. He still hadn't accumulated enough new ones to get ahold of all of the different facets of her personality. Neji hoped that he could soon though. It was a stretch, but perhaps she really would be naturally kind enough that he'd be able to banish his doubts about his place beside her completely.

 _Wouldn't that be a blessing?_ Those toxic thoughts whispered again. _You'd be able to get off scot-free. You wouldn't even need to make it up to her. Just show that you regret it a little, and she'll be happy._

"I will live the rest of my life with this burden," he said aloud. A declaration as much as it was a confession. More than a few passersby looked at him like he was insane, but he ignored them. "It isn't one that can so easily be removed. More so if she deigns to show even an ounce of kindness to me after all of this. If she still chooses me to be her guardian, my years of servitude will never be able to make up for this disgrace _._ "

 _You are a fool for putting yourself in such an uncompromising position._

Neji knew that.

Because even though he was loathed to admit it, the heat that welled in his chest whenever he saw Hinata now wasn't purely out of duty. The dark shroud of hatred had dimmed, and although it wasn't gone completely, with each day that passed, it lifted higher and higher, revealing an ancient affection in his bruised heart that had only become rawer as the years pressed on. It ached to even think about. This soft, unbearable tenderness choked him. It made him feel unworthy in ways he'd never once felt as a fated member of the Branch House.

Neji breathed to steady himself.

He looked up just in time to see Naruto at the end of the road. Their eyes met. The blond raised his hand to call out to him, but Neji made a sharp turn before his name could even leave his lips. He was grateful to Naruto—would always be. But not enough to suffer in his presence while his own heart ached with the thought of the one woman that he knew for a fact loved the blond and not him... the same one that Naruto glossed over like a tepid breeze in favor of more _colorful_ pursuits. Neji wasn't looking for more reasons to tear himself in two. Not now. That Naruto didn't even realize that Hinata adored him made it worse somehow. Neji wasn't so presumptuous as to believe that _he_ deserved her attention any more than that blond, but he did think that he'd at least cherish it more, considering all that had happened between them.

Neji squinted once he finally entered the hospital. After walking so long under the cover of night, the light seemed to fall like hammers here. Gripping the cloth in his hands tighter, Neji made his way to her room. A flash of his Byakugan revealed that she was alone and that none of her teammates or friends were in the vicinity.

He got there easily enough, though he paused at the door before entering. Neji popped his neck, stretching it this way and that, as if preparing for an especially arduous task. He always did this before coming in. It was the only way he could bolster his spirit enough to face her.

There was a sound, and Neji looked down at his hands to find them trembling. They shook the food so badly that he hoped they didn't get ruined in their containers. He knew she wouldn't complain, but _he_ would be bothered. Tremors, as frightening as they were, cradled the preciousness of moments. Ensured that he was treasuring them properly. From now on, he decided that if he didn't have them, then something was very wrong. Because the way he saw it, the only way to properly care for someone was to realize that someday they might be gone from him.

And if nothing else, he knew for a fact that he cared for her.

Faint, but there—and growing stronger by the hour.

He knocked twice. There was a pause, before she responded. Neji knew that she must've been readying herself, too. He wasn't the only one that needed to muster up as much confidence as possible. That made him feel both better and worse about the situation.

Neji smiled ruefully. He made a silent vow to himself that he would try his hardest to ensure that she'd never again have to gather herself from just the thought of having to interact with him. There was another call, granting him permission again, though much louder now.

 _Don't worry,_ Neji thought tenderly. _I heard you._

He entered.

"Neji-san," she said, delighted. All red cheeks and glowing eyes. " _I—I_ 'm glad to see you."

His stomach jolted, as it always did at her ability to say such things so effortlessly. She was smiling when he looked at her. Like she knew exactly how she affected him. Though that couldn't be true. There was an unmatched innocence in her gaze that made it difficult for him to believe that she had a single mean-spirited bone in her body. Oh, he knew Hinata could hate, could even manipulate others into bending to her will by saying the right words. She was human after all. More than that, she was a Hyuga. But he doubted that she would ever allow any ill feelings to grip and fester within her as he once did.

"Hinata-sama," he said back, still getting used to the title. It tasted sweet on his tongue. "Are you well?"

"Yes, thank you." She breathed to command her stutter. Neji waited patiently. "The nurses say I'm doing very good. They'll be letting me out soon."

"That's good to hear," he debated apologizing again for making her go through this, then thought better of it, "I'm happy for you."

"I'm grateful to everyone that came to visit me."

"Even me?" Neji asked, before he could stop himself.

"Yes," she said without missing a beat. Her cheeks were red again. "Especially you."

A short silence ensued.

It was broken by Hinata's growling stomach. The blush on her face extended all the way up to her ears at that. She piled both of her hands over the area, as if that might silence it. But all it did was make it growl again in protest. And Neji—

Neji _laughed._

It was startled out of him. The sound of it was deep and rusty enough that he almost didn't recognize his own voice. Hinata stared, then brightened like a blossoming flower as his joy reverberated all around the room.

How long had it been since he'd laughed? He didn't know, but he wanted to have the opportunity to do so again. So, he plopped down in the empty seat by her bed, unwrapped their meals, and— _stayed._

Neji could only hope that she continued to allow him this privilege.

* * *

 _A/N: Please Review._


	5. Penance

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

 _ **Request by OneWhoReadsTooMuch:**_ _Neji's punishment for his actions during the Chunin Exams._

* * *

Neji felt himself floating, the ground long gone beneath him. Nothing anchored him here. Only his thoughts and the knowledge that the restlessness of this moment would pass. The pervading warmth that was his punishment was soft at first. It bled quietly into his veins. A steady trickle of comfort.

Then, all at once, it became unbearable. The forgiving stream turned into an all-out gush of heat. It erupted from his forehead, then downwards to tear at every inch of his body. Every heartbeat throbbed from head to toe.

 _I deserve this,_ he told himself. It was only right after what he'd done to the Hyuga heiress. Ignorance was no excuse for his actions. But even so, this pain… it was almost too much to bear.

 _You will_ _ **not**_ _break,_ he mentally shouted at himself.

He'd been punished and stitched back together again enough times to know how all of this worked. How chakra dripped into his skin with the same meticulous precision an expert tailor displayed with his needle. This pain was versatile. An almost sentient being that prodded first to find the weakest spots before exploding underneath his flesh.

Neji felt that happening now.

It was a flood of pure _hurt_. It forced its way inside of him. Intense. Demanding. Tendrils of agony dug around his insides, threaded in his limbs, and pierced its way between the soft, pink tissue of his organs. It flanked every layer of muscle, trying to tear him apart at the seams.

And then he was screaming.

The ground tipped up to meet him. He was on his knees now, dipped unwillingly forward in the dojo his father had trained him in. It felt like warmth, but smelt like fear. Neji didn't know when exactly his forehead fell low in an unexpected bow, but there was no time to worry about such banal concerns.

Above him, stood the man with his father's face. A whip to snap him back to reality. He didn't enjoy torturing him like this, he knew, but better him than another, more violent member of the Main House. Better him than someone whose daughter he didn't try to kill.

This was only right.

But that still didn't stop the string of dry laughter that bubbled from Neji's chest. It was so _unfair_ how the man inflicting this abysmal pain upon him looked just like the one he longed to see. Hiashi's eyes and lips were framed by premature wrinkles. There was no enjoyment in his gaze, but there was no warmth either—not like he expected any. Hiashi treated everyone with the same coldness; kept them all at the same uncomfortable distance. Though his children often got it ten times worse.

 _This is penance for what I put Hinata through,_ he thought, even as he tried to control the immense outpouring of hatred in his stomach that still hadn't been fully tempered by regret. _For attempting to kill the heiress of the clan._

As soon as the thought was born, feelings too dense for him to pick apart rolled out. Hate, confidence, skepticism, faith. It was a mash of emotion that made him want to vomit. It cut through him, through flesh and bone and trained muscle, sharper and more deadly than any blade. They tangled and knotted themselves until only one large mass of animosity was left. It boiled in his belly. Seethed, then grew until it pulsed in his veins like water frozen too quickly.

Neji felt the ugly emotions rush as swiftly as the tide across sand. He knew this feeling well. It was fury. Pent-up rage. The blackened intent to do nothing but hurt and kill and cause harm in ways that he fully knew himself capable of.

 _No,_ he struggled with his mind, while his body pounded. He didn't need to beat _himself_ on top of the physical punishment he was receiving.

If anything, he should've counted himself fortunate. Because if he was anyone else, he'd be dead.

Despite his pride, Neji instinctively tried to move away from the explosive pain that Hiashi caused, but something hard stopped him. Suddenly, he was kicked back to the ground by another. Neji couldn't see who did it—a jealous member of the Main House, perhaps—but through the hazy blurs of hurt, he did hear Hiashi promise wrath to the offender when he was through with him.

Neji's hands dug into the priceless floorboards. He swore that the sheer intensity of what was coursing through him had broken flesh somewhere because he could smell the rusty scent of iron. He felt it around his shoulders, too. It dripped down his arms and made it hard for him to keep his torso from falling flat onto the ground.

Again, he tried to get away. It was _instinct._ The will to live and be free of this torment overpowered everything in his mind. His movements were jerky and graceless, fueled by the same kind of life-threatening desperation he'd felt so many times before. Only this time, there was no escape.

Neji wailed when a final burst of energy poured into him, high enough to split his own ears with the sound. The world was just a perpetual surge of pain at this point. Chakra burned his flesh, pinching the nerves hidden beneath the surface. It turned his complexion soft and pink from the inside, making it too raw for anything more than a feather's touch. He was tearing apart at the seams. Anymore and he would break.

Chakra didn't simply gush through him. It spun in the empty spaces left behind, rolling needles against his insides. Neji wanted little else than to screech profanities at the top of his lungs, to shout at him to stop, but he bit his tongue hard enough to bleed and— _took it._

This was _his_ punishment. He would _not_ grumble or complain.

Despite his actions, he took pride in his status as a member of the esteemed Hyuga clan. He wouldn't disappoint himself by claiming that this was too much for him to bear because it _wasn't._ This was _nothing_ in the face of what he'd done. As much of a disappointment as Hinata might've been to the Hyuga Main House, she was still heiress. She was still the eldest daughter of the clan head and would continue to be so until someone took that title from her. Neji hadn't hurt a simple girl. He hadn't hurt his cousin or some recently graduated genin. Neji hurt his _clan's_ heiress. He would've killed her and _liked_ it. What he felt right now could hardly compare to the years of joy he would've stolen had he been allowed to continue.

And then, without warning, the pain stopped.

Neji collapsed fully to the floor at its absence. It had disappeared so abruptly that his soul seemed to ache even more, almost missing that horrid sensation. His entire body was laden with exhaustion at this point. The mark on his forehead throbbed endlessly along with his heart. It burned to the touch, and somehow, he just _knew_ steam rose from the edges. It would bubble up if it didn't get healed soon. But Neji couldn't even think about going to find a medic now. He could barely extend his arm without a spike of pain shooting up the limb and making the rest of his body tremble in protest.

Those that had stayed to watch him get punished left once they realized he wouldn't be moving anytime soon. Distantly, he registered Hiashi order a member of the Branch House to call for someone to heal him. He could only pray that he wasn't told to stand up before the clan and apologize to their faces afterwards. Neji didn't think he could take it. Especially in the fragile state he was in now.

Neji watched, listless, as the surroundings slipped through his fingers. Unreal. Unable to be trusted.

 _Hinata,_ he thought, both as her guardian and her tormentor. Though even he was no longer sure of the former. He doubted Hinata wanted him. But still, he had to wonder... _W_ _ill this cleanse me? Will it make me worthy of once again standing by your side?_

He hoped so.

That was his final, conscious thought, before being enveloped in a world of black. Neji didn't dream.

* * *

 _A/N: I used a lot of snippets from different parts of my books to construct this chapter because I felt that the way I described pain in those specific sections would work astoundingly well for this request in particular. I do hope you all enjoyed it. Please do consider supporting me through my work as an author. As always, if you're interested in my writing beyond fanfic, then my fantasy series can be purchased in stores and online. The URL to my author blog is on my profile._

 _Please Review._


	6. Aftermath 3

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

 _ **Request by kayna96:**_ _Neji and Hina interaction after she's discharged from the hospital._

* * *

Hinata was avoiding him.

He should've expected it. Truthfully, a part of him did. That toxic _thing_ in the back of his mind had been telling him time and time again about this. It talked so much that he'd grown used to its presence. He didn't need it to tell him how he was far _less_ than he'd once thought; than others knew him to be as—Neji knew that already. He ruminated over it heavily during and after his punishment. Neji was a prodigy, but he was human, too. He was and could once again be driven by emotions.

There were so few things he could trust in this world, so Neji relied on what he could feel and what he could taste. His heart, even now, was still wrapped in thorns with tight brambles of fear. But it wasn't because of hate. Not anymore. This was regret. Truth's horrors. The consequences of actions he was still trying to fix. He didn't need that voice constantly whispering in the back of his head because he felt the wash of it every morning when he woke. It was even stronger when night came to claim whatever light remained.

Some days, when the adrenaline still hadn't subsided after long hours of training with his uncle, he'd stay up and think of all those that would've been affected had his hate been allowed to reign free during their fight in the Chunin Exams. Hanabi, who would've steeled herself and unleashed her fury against the Branch House. Hiashi, who would've looked at him with a mixture of remorse and utter disdain. Ko, who would've cut the marble to mark her grave. Her teammates that would've gladly maimed him if given the chance. Too many. Far too many.

Neji's hands shook at the thought. He balled them into fists and screwed his eyes shut until the feelings that flooded him passed.

By the time he opened them again, Hinata was standing before him. He was startled, but ice cold discipline drilled into him for years ensured that his face remained as impassive as possible. How had she snuck up on him? How long had she been standing there? Did she see the remorse that clouded his expression before he could school it? Oh, he hoped not. He didn't want to be the cause of another frown on her face.

As he examined her, he couldn't help but think that she looked ready to keel over. Hinata's knees were shaking so bad. Even her lower lip quivered in a way that made him wonder if she feared he'd hit her again. Shino and Kiba were standing a few feet behind her. Pillars of support that he was supposed to be among. He wasn't jealous… not really. Envy felt foreign to him, but he knew enough about it to know that this was something different. This was darker and aimed more at himself than a third party. Because there they were, silent sentinels with squared shoulders, and here he was, on the other side, watching Hinata tremble before him.

Hinata was _his_ charge, and yet…

Shino had his hands in his pockets, while Kiba had his arms crossed behind his head. They looked casual enough, but Neji saw the threats in their eyes that just dared him to try something; dared him to give them an excuse to fight. Neji wouldn't though. He'd be humiliated if he did—and not because he thought he'd lose.

Hinata breathed in deeply.

It caught Neji's attention enough that he decided to disregard her two protective companions. She had come to _him._ Finally. Neji had tried getting her attention with a small—and what he hoped was a welcoming—smile at her whenever their eyes met after she was discharged from the hospital. She had returned it hesitantly during those first few days, but as the weeks pressed on, she'd just make a noise of surprise, then turn in the other direction to run far, far away from him.

"Hinata-sama," he called, ignoring the way the Inuzuka scoffed at the title. "Can I help you?"

She breathed again and clenched her fists.

Neji waited patiently for her.

Hinata had always been nervous, meek, and a little too frightened of the world for her own good. But it was only after examining her a little closer that Neji learned to respect her for the way she consistently overcame those innate qualities when the time called for it. And this was one of those times.

She was reliable in the face of hardship. Courageous, despite her fear. Unlike so many others, she'd gladly die for what she believed in. He revered her for it. Hinata maintained a kindness that should've been crushed long ago not by steeling herself, but by constantly choosing to surmount the emotions that were a natural part of her. She climbed a mountain every day, and Neji knew— _knew—_ that once she was older, she'd be able to jump up with ease.

He wanted to help her reach that point.

His arm rose to touch her in encouragement, but when he saw her teammates grow stiff, he stopped. Neji allowed it to hover over her shoulder instead. Comfort that she could choose to accept with her own two hands if she so wished.

Hinata didn't even think.

She squeezed his fingers with all of hers like he was her only moor in an endless sea. It hurt, but he didn't dare tell her to let go.

" _I—I_ 'm sorry for avoiding you," she finally managed to stutter out.

"There's no reason to be so, Hinata-sama. I understand why."

" _I_ — _I_ t's not because of you, _i_ — _i_ t's _b—b_ ecause _I—I_ feel ashamed." Her head was bowed so low that _he_ thought he should've been the only one that felt that way. She was an heiress in front of her failed guardian. Any humiliation wasn't hers to bear. "Ashamed _t—t_ hat you got _h—h_ urt because of _my_ weakness."

Neji's shoulders went rigid.

With his free hand, he cupped the back of Hinata's neck to bring her head up, so he could look her in the eye. She squeaked at the sudden touch. Her hands never left his. Behind her, Kiba snarled and made a move to break them apart, but Shino raised his arm to stop him. He'd have to thank the Aburame after this. Wonderful.

"I was punished because of my mistakes," he said, fierce, so she wouldn't protest it. "It was no one's fault, but my own, Hinata-sama. _Please_ don't feel guilty over something that was so clearly my problem to begin with."

This was worse than the pain he'd felt when he was punished for his actions. He'd break if she continued.

There was so much hurt in her eyes—for _him,_ he realized—that he pulled her towards him, unable to bear the thought of her looking at him with such an expression. She was so inexplicably _fond_ of him, and just the thought of it filled him with the need to be uncharacteristically gentle with her. Hinata made a noise of surprise that was muffled by his chest. But he didn't want to let go. Not now and never again. This hug was as much to comfort them both as it was an apology for all of the times he had looked and touched her with enough force to shatter a boulder.

"Is this why you've been avoiding me?" he whispered against her hair.

" _Y—Y_ ou noticed?"

How could he not?

He didn't answer, only drew her towards him. Closer, so that there was barely even space for breath between them.

"Neji," she called, and the sound of his name on her lips was enough to make him pull slightly away. There was such resolution in her voice. Even the stutter had steadied. Not a frightened genin now. Only an heiress. He wanted to look at her face. "I promise not to avoid you again. Do… do you think we can work things out? Slowly? I…"

"You?" he prompted when her pause had gone on for too long.

"I," she shut her eyes to bolster her spirit, "would like you to take your place as my guardian again."

Her eyes drifted down in embarrassment at the wish. She even touched her pointer fingers together, entirely ignorant to how his entire being abruptly expanded in joy at her words. Even that despicable voice in the back of him mind vanished. Scared off like a flock of birds from the option she'd just given him... the one he thought he'd never have again. The very one he'd been longing for.

He must've taken too long to answer though, because in a smaller voice, she added, "But only if it's something you want, too."

 _Here it is,_ he thought, feeling more than a little blessed, _my second chance._

Neji grabbed her hands, keeping her from that nervous habit. He vowed to never let her feel such a way again. At least not when she was standing in front of him, when he was close enough for her to reach and feel secure.

"Hinata-sama," he somehow managed to choke out amidst the waves of barely tempered emotion clogging his throat. "It would be my honor."

* * *

 _A/N:_ _ **There's a lot of narration in my fics because it's easier to say the things than type the scenes out word for word. I'm not trying to create overly long chapters.**_ _In other news, I feel like I'm making a multi-chapter fic now. I'll be ignoring requests to continue the aftermath plot in a linear fashion because I'm reiterating the things I've already said in previous chapters._ _ **I'll consider other ideas I find interesting**_ _. Thank you kindly to those that contributed to requests in this segment of Devotion._


	7. Rebuilding

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

Fighting against destiny was an arduous task.

That was something Neji had learned early on in life. The lesson itself came quicker than most. A feat, considering what a swift learner he was— _still is._ As a child, he watched his father build high walls made of gleaming white stone, rock-hard marble, and mortar thick enough that even he would struggle to carry it twenty years down the line. His father was nothing, if not a steady moor, which he could grasp onto with shaking fingers and a battered, aching forehead whenever he was down and uncertain if he could stand again.

Neji loved him for it; looked up to him with all of the wonder a child could have towards his proud, unwavering father.

Hizashi's dock was a grand one with walls high enough to touch they sky. It was so broad that Neji couldn't see its end. The winds of fate were still present, blowing here and there during particularly stormy times, but the tides had disappeared completely. So much so that Neji didn't even realize they existed until his fourth birthday when he'd met his charge and thrust upon the path of servitude. Hizashi was steady before the grand sea. A constant protector that he was allowed to live and thrive in the shadow of. None of the walls he built or wooden boards he hammered back into place could ever fail.

Then, Neji learned of his death.

There was no relentless tempest of water and wind, no salty sting digging into the wounds he suffered from training that day, no outcry of grief as sudden and stark as the ones in the stories he read about ninjas whose comrades died on the battlefield, only a gentle breeze. As if nothing was wrong. It called out to him, made his head turn for a moment, before he carried on with his tasks again.

When he came home, he found an open sea and winds that buffeted every corner of the once proud dock his father had spent decades constructing. Each rise of water was enough to throttle him; every gust of air made his eyes burn with tears. His father—master of this place—was gone. He was fully expected to take his place. To ensure that this empty space before him wouldn't be gone entirely.

 _I can do this. I_ _ **will**_ _do this,_ he thought as he stood upon that lonely shore and took a remnant of Hizashi's pride. _Father taught me how to build._

And so he does.

Hizashi fortified his walls in Neji's presence, so that he could learn for himself how to create his own defense against the waves. He had stepped aside whenever Neji drew near, piling and hammering just a little bit slower for him, so that he could follow. What Neji hadn't realized was that Hizashi had been raising heavy blocks around him, too, so that he wouldn't be swept away once his walls eventually withered and disappeared completely. Hizashi had known that he wouldn't be around to guide and protect him from destiny's call, and that, perhaps, was what hurt the most.

The stones and wooden floors around Neji were still new. Untested. They hadn't weathered much. Neji didn't complain. There was a brief instant of grief and more than two dozen pitying glances thrown his way by people whose faces he didn't care to register. He ignored it all in favor of getting on his knees and building. He took what he could from his father's stockades, unearthed his own, and eventually, he made something of a life behind the weak, unstable thing that kept failing apart at the edges when his flaring hate got the better of him.

Destiny stole from him a life that he never offered. It was a cage disguised as a path with no warmth. Neji hated the cold, but he couldn't light a fire. His fingers already shook so badly from it that whatever he built could never seem to look anything like the pristine, water-resistant walls his father had done. It was never enough. Nothing ever would be.

It was later, as he aged and the walls around him started to grow higher, but not wider, he looked off to the side where there was new growth on the ends of his dock, near the entrance where the water swirled and boiled. He hadn't built those brocades himself; he wouldn't even know where to begin for one. They were so much different from his poor mimic of his father's. Rather than meticulously sealed square cinders, they were startling spires that couldn't do much to protect against anything. But they were there, and the little girl building them seemed to find no problem with them.

Their eyes met across the shore.

He knew those eyes. They were oh, so familiar once. From another lifetime, back when he didn't have to continuously fight against the tide. When every defense he had didn't crumble the moment he had his back turned.

Then, he saw her push her own battered excuse of a defense against his to get them to mash together. How she did it so easily, he could never know. But it didn't change the fact that the pieces they'd made didn't fit. The blocks they used were too different. There was no connecting slope to hold them together. But she smiled like she was so proud of her idea, and as he looked up at the towering spire with a point impossible to judge because of the grey, whorled clouds, he was reminded of his father.

This was what Neji been searching for—points to guide his ramparts. A center to hold up his walls, so they'd stop tipping over before he could run to hold them upright.

Neji looked over at her. A woman now. Pale skin. A gentle voice with even gentler hands. Long, midnight-purple hair that framed eyes that shone silver and beautiful even without the sun. The noisy world around him suddenly grew quiet. The winds still howled and the waves still thrashed against his stronghold, but that didn't matter. He wasn't alone on this shore.

In this endless dark blue, there was finally a light for him to follow. Warmth in a world brimming with cold pushes that forced him on a track he didn't want to head down. But with her here now—a real and physical guide to give him purpose, he would have a say. He could elect to follow her of his own free will. Perhaps even point them both in a direction of _his_ choosing.

Realization dawned on him then. He knew this person.

"Hinata," he called.

Neji reached out.

* * *

 _A/N: Inspired by a DA fic by LoquaciousQuark._

 _Please Review._


	8. Fashion Matters

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

Hinata bought him a yukata.

She liked to buy him things when she felt as if his belongings were beginning to wear. A few articles of clothing here and there, a new set of gear, better oil for his weapons, shorter training posts when he wanted to practice his legwork. He let her do as she pleased, in part because he knew she'd never empty the Hyuga coffers no matter how much she tried, and in another because it delighted her to care for him.

Hinata had always been eager to please, and he couldn't take this small joy away from her. It had been difficult at first, considering his status before they were arranged to be wed, but over the years, he'd grown accustomed to her ways. And it wasn't as if she never mentioned her desire to purchase something beforehand in the hopes of getting his input—she'd even mentioned the yukata. It was about a week or so ago. A passing conversation that Neji hadn't thought too much about.

That was also why he hadn't questioned the plain white rectangle sitting so innocently on their dining room table. There was a note taped on top with the business card of the store's owner that he hadn't bothered reading. It wasn't because he was uninterested, but because the sight of what awaited him when he opened that box had left him, for lack of a better word, speechless.

The yukata was meant to be worn loosely on top of pants. He found that out a second after touching the fabric. It was thin, perhaps thinner than anything else he owned. But that wasn't the problem.

It was… outrageously green.

He felt like he'd look like a Hyuga version of Rock Lee should he be foolish enough to don it. It wasn't just that either—because heaven forbid the yukata only had _one_ problem—there was also delicate, gold filigree running all along its length that made it _sparkle._ Not the polished glint on most expensive traditional clothing either, but an outright _glittery sparkle._

And the collar…

 _Hokage's ashes, the collar,_ he thought. _It has fur! White, green-tinted fur. Bless whatever animal was used to make this._ Neji's gaze drifted down to find even more along the bottom. He flinched at the sight. _It looks like something a tacky noblewoman would wear._

Out of curiosity, Neji turned his back on the open window before him, so he could see it in semi-darkness. He was unsurprised to find that the shadows did nothing to hide its cheerful shimmer or its eyesore of a color. Neji didn't know if some special jutsu had been cast upon it or if it had been made for some adventurous woman's forest fantasy, but he quickly decided that this was no yukata. It was an abomination that needed to be destroyed immediately.

What was Hinata thinking when she purchased this? Had she even been?

He let out a deep, emptying sigh.

Unfortunately, Neji had never been particularly skilled at refusing her anything, and throwing this out might earn him more than just an aggravated frown. It at least _felt_ expensive, though he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. He wasn't particularly fond of overly pricy clothing in the first place. Not to mention that this _thing_ didn't exactly look worth whatever she must've paid for it.

Neji held up the robe in front of him, before striding toward the tall mirror they kept in the corner of the room. The width was perfect; the length was even better. It fell mid-calf. Exactly where he liked it. It would fit him as excellently as anything else he owned. But still…

Neji knew he should appreciate whatever was given to him, but he didn't even want to keep this in his closet. Let alone try it on. It was appalling. Anyone with eyes could see that.

It was at that exact moment that Hinata stepped in.

"Neji, have you seen—"

She went completely still.

"Oh," she said, small. "You already found it."

Sweat beaded down his back. How was he supposed to break this to her?

 _Gently,_ his genius mind supplied, and he almost tore the fabric in two at the obvious answer. Even his own head was working against him. He could work through half a dozen battle tactics in under a minute, and he couldn't think of a single way to get through this?

"Hinata," he said gravelly.

"Yes?"

Neji put the _thing_ down with as much care as revulsion allowed, before closing the distance between them. He took both of her hands in his and squeezed them tightly.

"I appreciate the thought, but… but it's—" _speak, coward,_ "—it's green."

Not quite what he intended to say. But it would have to do.

"Won't it fit though?" she asked, sparing the cloth a glance. "It's for the upcoming harvest festival."

There was no way he was going to walk around in public wearing that.

"Yes, but perhaps a more subdued tone would be better." The suggestion wasn't formed like a question. It was a statement, and he made sure his tone brooked no barter on the subject. He would die for her, but there were certain minor, day-to-day boundaries that could not be crossed. This was one of them. His pride as a Hyuga was on the line.

"I don't think that would work well."

"Why?"

She looked at him like he'd just sprouted two heads.

"Lee-kun doesn't dress like us, Neji," she said very slowly, and as soon as the words registered, his shoulders slumped down in relief. It was short lived, however. Because what came next had Neji choking on air. " _D—D_ id you want it?"

"No!" he said, sudden and loud enough to startle her.

"I don't understand." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why were you holding it then? Did you not like yours?"

"Mine?"

She pointed at another box by the foot of the table. He must've kicked it by accident while he was staring at the atrocity because the lid was half on the floor. From the little he could see over the rim, it was white with black swirls. No sparkling to speak of. No fur on the edges. Not even a glimmer under the shade. Exactly the sort of unadventurous he liked in his clothes.

So, Hinata hadn't lost her mind, or more accurately, her eyesight. Thank the spirits.

His arms circled her waist. But when he leaned down to plant a soft kiss on her lips, the pieces finally clicked together in her head. She moved back as far as she could in his arms to shoot him a look that was a mix between amused and affronted.

"Did you really think I bought you that?"

* * *

 _A/N: Please Review._


	9. Aware

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

 _ **Request by Mikasa064: Please do something with someone from Neji's team.**_

 _ **Lee's POV**_

* * *

Rock Lee saw more than most gave him credit for.

Yes, he was dense. He wasn't arrogant enough to not be able to admit that. But like most skilled ninjas—when it came to the ones he'd stood by for most of his life—he could tell when something was off with a simple glance. People thought of him as different just because of his extreme personality, but he was human, too. Sometimes he felt like they forgot that he was a taijutsu specialist; a master of the human body. That included all of the intricate twitches and minute facial expressions that someone made.

And when it came to his lifelong rival, Hyuga Neji, he was an expert. He could read his body language from sixty paces away. Contrary to popular belief, Neji's face gave away what he was thinking. He was an open book. Especially when it came to Hinata.

His expressions had changed over the years, and Lee found himself following the details of their relationship by Neji's mannerisms.

At first, he had a heated glance filled with disdain. Neji's mouth was always curved down into an angry frown coupled with a disappointed brow. But those features had softened somewhere along the way. It wasn't all at once, rather the change came gradually. One by one; each was smoothed over with the passing of the years. They only returned when he was angry or had gotten into a fight with the woman in question.

There were a lot of stiff lines in the beginning. Awkward tension that lingered in the air, splintering together broken conversations as Neji made empty comments about the weather—learning how to speak to Hinata, yet say nothing at the same time. Hinata was determined to fix their relationship, but Lee found a flaw in her gentle personality. That is, she didn't know that her kindness could sometimes be extremely daunting, especially when confronted by Neji's pride. It always made Neji falter in shame for a moment, as if he was pained at the thought of her being so understanding. But Lee saw. Though he said nothing and continued to be his regular, happy self. He helped them bridge together their conversations, one word at a time, without mentioning anything of past grievances or of bruised souls or the scar on Hinata's heart that they all knew was there.

With time, Neji's face eased. He'd never been open with his smiles, and their mended relationship did nothing to fix that. But Lee saw it more often now. Sometimes, when he was lucky, they'd stumble across Hinata while they were out together as a team, and Lee could see the startling curve of Neji's _true_ grin, before it was swiftly killed by a mask of duty. It would appear again whenever Hinata spoke to him, however, so it never truly disappeared. Those small glimpses were more than enough for him to know that his rival—his teammate; his friend _—_ was finally content.

After seeing him so angry as a child, that was all he could ask for.

What Lee heard was different.

Silence followed Neji like a shadow.

When he did speak, he wasn't gentle with his words. Though that was only if he was interacting with anyone other than Hinata or Hanabi—the princesses that ruled the Hyuga. Neji spoke the same way he walked: purposeful. Deliberate. There were no wasted words, unless he was particularly relaxed. But sometimes, Lee thought that he wanted to say more to Hinata, and just held himself back on account of his position. The words would bend in his throat, and he'd bite his tongue just to make sure they wouldn't escape. This habit of his had steadily diminished after their marriage, but Lee still recalled a time when Neji had almost split his lip once Hinata announced that she'd have to begin sending out her information to possible bachelors by her father's request.

Lee knew what he wanted to say— _No, I'm here. Don't go. There's no need. Am I not enough?_

He'd taken one look at him and decided to clasp his shoulder in support. Lee had then followed it up with the best good guy pose he could muster. Neji never failed to brush him aside a moment later with a look of warning, but Lee wanted him to know that he was there. Because even if Neji knew that he could count on him, sometimes someone needed to be reminded of the reassurance.

The things Lee did with the scant amount of information he received was what really mattered though.

He wasn't like the women with their gossip circles. Lee knew that secrets didn't need to be picked at and dragged out of the dark before they were ready. So, he kept Neji's torch for his charge sealed between his lips. He let it grow there in the dusk. Lee watched it grow month after month, becoming deep and strong, so that it could burst into the light when the time came—and the time _would_ come. They were both wonderful people that deserved the world.

And one day, when Neji suddenly let out a pent-up litany of frustration after a particularly tiring impromptu training session, Lee wasn't surprised. Neji told him things he knew already, and then some he didn't. Lee had nodded in that focused way of his that let Neji know he was listening. He didn't bother speaking or offering advice, only because he knew that Neji wasn't talking now because of something like that. Neji just wanted him to listen. So, listen he did. Talking could hurt as much as it could heal. Lee had never been good with words anyway. And he didn't want to ruin his companion's exhausted tirade.

By the end of it, they were both slightly grinning at each other. Neji had even asked him to be his best man.

On the day of their wedding, Neji's entire being was alight with joy. Gone, were the dark flashes of thunder that would often claim him when they were children. Gone, were the quickly hidden grins and hesitant touches. Gone, were the doubtful thoughts that he was unworthy of affection in some twisted way.

Lee was filled with joy along with him. To know for sure that his best friend was happy in this short, terrifying life they lived was one of the best feelings in the world.

Lee exhaled deeply, before looking up at the sun breaking over the horizon.

It was time to do his morning laps.

"Maybe Neji will do them with me?" he said aloud, before running to the Hyuga compound.


	10. Vow

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

* * *

Neji was unaccustomed to futility. Hinata knew the sense of it better than her own name for almost two decades. She'd grown strong enough to continuously fight against failure and disappointment in a way that he had not. But like her, he knew the dangers of hope. He wasn't one to forlornly dream about unrealistic things that were too far out of his reach, and he only looked on at those foolish enough to try.

Hinata was one of them. She kicked and she grasped. Every waking moment was spent jumping, reaching, doing _everything_ she possibly could until she touched the stars she saw twinkling like freedom in the distance. Neji had watched her struggle. For years, he did. And for years, he scoffed, even cursed her idiocy. What was the point when each time she'd get a little higher, she'd just come crashing back down half a second later and bruising her fragile emotions.

But as he grew older and wiser, he had ever so slowly decided to help her. To take matters into his own hands, so she wouldn't have to struggle so much with trying to stand there alone. Neji lifted her with his own two hands until she could pick at the flames in the sky and choose the future she wanted for herself; the future she wanted for _them._

And that was why the day Hinata became leader of the clan was one of the proudest of his life.

He shared in not just what her rise to power entailed for the Hyuga, but also her joy. In the fact that the struggle was over and a newer, brighter one had just begun. It would be one they would undertake together. That he had helped her with the first was something that made his chest swell, as deep and immense as a call to the ocean, but that this new challenge would be one that he could start with her from the beginning, and not from the middle, made the blood in his veins rush with a ringing roar.

Neji was _excited._

How long had it been since he'd felt that way about something regarding the clan?

 _Not since Hiashi-sama offered to teach me… or the day I took back my place as Hinata's guardian._

Neji looked up at the heavens above. It glittered wide and unobscured, and as breathtaking as it was, it could hardly compare to the sight of Hinata as she stepped out from the sliding doors that the clan matrons had been holding her hostage behind for the better part of the day. Shadows flickered sharp across his face, as the light from within waned. Neji closed his eyes when a bright, momentary flash of light blinded him.

 _An ornament,_ he realized. It had gems that looked like someone had plucked pieces from the sky.

His eyes trailed downward.

Hinata's skin had been scrubbed raw, he knew, though the redness didn't show. In fact, she had the barest coat of oil on her, which led him to believe that any type of pressure—even from her own clothes—must've hurt. Her hair fell over her shoulders like a gleaming sheet of ebony. The single ornament on the side was meant for decorative purposes, rather than to hold anything up.

She was swaddled in layers. All of them were black, white, or a pale silver that made his focus switch from area to area. The over coat on her shoulders was the most finely-crafted brocade he'd ever seen. It was darker than tar with patterned silver leaves all along its back. The cloth had been passed down for generations, and was physical evidence of not only the Hyuga clan's age, but also its wealth.

She wasn't wearing her platform shoes yet, he noted, which meant they had a bit of time before she had to begin her procession.

He would be beside her. Not as her guardian, but as her betrothed. Although she was significantly better dressed—which was only right, considering the title of head would belong officially to her even after they were married—he wasn't exempt from the cleansing _scrub_ by the clan or the invasive scrutiny to make sure that he looked nothing less than regal. As much as it pained him to admit it, their engagement wasn't only a sign of love. It was a promise to all of their clansmen that she would keep her word and totally abolish the Branch House.

"You look," he paused, not wanting to give her a superficial compliment. When their eyes met, the word came, "Ready."

She smiled, then held up her arms to him.

"Neji," she called.

He obliged.

Neji grasped her much smaller hands, noting how they trembled. He squeezed them to assuage any and all of her worries, before bending down to place a kiss on the back of each. He whispered affection against them, and then, louder, a promise to be her ground and her anchor for the long and difficult years they had ahead.

"I will stand beside you, Hinata," he vowed. "Always."

Behind them, the sun broke red and glorious over the horizon.


End file.
